Navigating a crowded developing brain leaves neurons with broken DNA

NEWS AND VIEWS

17 June 2026

As neurons migrate to their final destinations in the forming brain, their DNA gets damaged. The brain has evolved a fix, but there can be lasting consequences if repair fails.

By

Monica D. Manam

Monica D. Manam is in the Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA, and the Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Christopher A. Walsh

Christopher A. Walsh is in the Division of Genetics and Genomics, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA, and the Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

From the moment an embryo begins to form, cells are on the move: immune cells fight infection, stem cells renew tissues and wound-healing cells rush to sites of injury. For neurons, migration happens just once — during their early development. After being born deep in the developing brain, neurons travel, sometimes considerable distances, to reach the specific layers and regions where they will remain for the rest of their lives. When they are in position, they form the connections that underlie thought, perception and movement. It has long been assumed that this journey, however arduous, leaves the neuron’s genetic material fundamentally intact. Writing in Nature, Zhang et al.1 now challenge that assumption in a striking way.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-01705-3

References

Zhang, Z. et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10648-8 (2026).

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Denais, C. M. et al. Science 352, 353–358 (2016).

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Madabhushi, R. et al. Cell 161, 1592–1605 (2015).

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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